


16 More Accords of Madness, v. IX: The Allfather's Tale

by Alpherae



Series: A Kettle Full of Corks [4]
Category: Elder Scrolls, Norse Religion & Lore, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Crossover, Fairy Tale Style, Gen, Possible Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-26
Updated: 2015-04-26
Packaged: 2018-03-25 22:43:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3827704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alpherae/pseuds/Alpherae
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Once upon a time, Odin Allfather made a bet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	16 More Accords of Madness, v. IX: The Allfather's Tale

**Author's Note:**

> I know much more about the mythology than I do about Marvel canon (haven't actually seen the movies, never mind the comics), which could explain a bit. Sorry. Also, yes, I do know that pun only works in English, and no, I don't care. :-P

Once upon a time, long and long ago, there was a god named Odin who travelled far and wide, for he was young, and he was free, and he was bored. In time he came to the farthest reaches of Yggdrasil, where the branches grew thin and tangled with those of other World-Trees, and there he came upon a bright hall as fine as any that now stand in Asgard. Inside, there was feasting and gambling, and the lord of the hall welcomed Odin in and gave him a seat of honour between himself and his brother.

_“Call me Lucky,” he said._

The god enjoyed himself well, but the ale was stronger than he expected and the food richer than he realised, and he woke up the next day in the swine-pen with a bellyache and no more than faint memories of the gambling.

_“What would I want with your firstborn, anyway?”_

When he struggled out of the straw and muck, the lord's brother was leaning on the fence, a smile on his lips and a glint in his eye. He helped the god make himself presentable once again, and stood by as Odin made his farewells to his host, and when the god left, the man left with him.

_“I'll watch over you until the debt's been paid.”_

The pair wandered throughout Yggdrasil, and faced many battles that would become famed in story and song. Where the god's strength was not enough, his companion's skill carried them on, and many of their quests would have failed for want of his wit.

_“Call me Lucky,” he said._

_“Loki?”_

_“Eh, close enough.”_

But Odin was ambitious. He searched for power, and sacrificed for knowledge. He inherited a realm, claimed a wife, sired a son to carry his name, and settled down to rule for a king is not free to wander as he chooses.

_“What would I want with your firstborn, anyway?_  
_A dull boy he'll be, strong as an ogrim and twice as boring.”_

So Loki journeyed on, for Odin's court could not hold his interest when there was all of the World-Tree and more to roam, and when the king gained a second son he named the child for his old ally.

_“Don't you fret. Together or apart,_  
_I'll watch over you until the debt's been paid.”_

Time passed, as it does for even the gods, and Odin became old and powerful, and considered wise. His elder son grew strong and brash whilst the younger was quick and wary, and unease between them turned to ill deeds when they came to manhood. When the matter was done, and many lay dead in many realms, three travellers came to the Allfather's court in the name of one whose name was long forgotten in Yggdrasil.

_“My name is Sheogorath, Prince of Madness,_  
_Lord of the Never-There,” he said cheerfully,_  
_“But you can call me Lucky.”_

_“Loki?”_

_“Eh, close enough.”_

The court muttered in contempt when the women laid claim to the younger prince, confined in his madness as he was. The elder prince shouted confusion and the queen whispered caution, but it was the king's decision to make when drunken memory returned.

_“What would I want with your firstborn, anyway?_  
_A dull boy he'll be, strong as an ogrim and_  
_twice as boring. Your_ second _one, on the_  
_other_ _hand, will be much more interesting.”_

“What claim has your master upon my son,” he demanded of them.

“The name you gave to him,” the first answered, a troll-wife as beautiful as the day.

“The fate you made for him,” said the second, an ice-hearted eldjötunn

“The debt you paid with him,” said the third, a sweet-tongued dragon.

And all three smiled at Odin, rose-sharp, thorn-sweet, as they waited for his reply.

_“Looks like you've lost the draw, Bors-son,_  
_but don't you fret. Together or apart,_  
_I'll watch over you until the debt's been paid.”_

**Author's Note:**

> The eldjötnar are the fire giants of Muspelheim.


End file.
